Refrigerator



(No Model.) v

7%2265565 mu iffwfw 2 Sheets-Sheet 1'.;-

F.RRANNEY. REFRIGERATQR.

Patented oct. 29, 1895.

WH :Idil

VIIll/l/ll//l/ll fof lts

'i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. l

FRED E. RANNEY, OF GREENVILLE, MICHIGAN.

REFRIGERATOR.

:PEGIEICATI-DN forming part of Letters Patent No. 548,818, dated October29, 1895.

Application ned March 25,1895.

.To all whom it may concern,.-

' Be it known that I, FRED E. RANNEY, of' Greenville, in the county ofMontcalm and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Refrigerators;

and I do hereby declare that the following is a4 full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, ref-l erence being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to the lettersof reference marked thereon, which form apart of this specifica? tion.

This invention relates to improvements in d ry-air refrigerators, orrefrigerators in which the interior construction and arrangement aresuch as to secure a definite and continuous circulation of air from theice to the provision chamber and back again to the ice-chamber withoutany condensation of moisture within or upon the walls of saidprovision-chamber, so that the atmosphere of the latter is at the sametime maintained cold and dry.

The object of the present invention therefore is to provide a dry-airrefrigerator of the character under consideration in the constructionofwhich the ice-compartment shall be constructed of non-conductingmaterial,

shall also be suitably lined with metal, and may be removable as a wholefrom theref ri gerator to facilitate cleansing of the refrigeratorandthe easy repairs thereto and to the ice-compartment, and whereby therefrigerator may be more easily filled with ice without interferingwith, but, on the contrary, increasing,

the proper circulation of dry air, and where front andback wallsof therefrigerator, A2 A2 its Side walls, and A3 and A4 the bottom and topthereof. Said walls and bottom are rigidly secured together in the usualmanner to form a rectangular box or chest and are each Asuitablenon-conducting material.

Serial No. 543,036. (No model.)

preferably made of two separate thicknesses of wood, with an interveningfilling a. of any The top A4 is hinged to the rear end wall A of thechest in the usual manner, and a door A5 in the front wall A affordsaccess to the provision-chamber A6,' which comprises the lower portionof the chest. v

B designates a removable ice box or chatnber, which normally occupiesthe entire upper portion of the refrigerator and is adapted to beinserted and removed through the open upper en d thereof when the tophinged cover A4 is thrown back. Said ice-box B is comprised of front andrear walls B and B2, end wallsBSB'and a bottom B4. The depth of thebox'B from front to rear is made such that its walls B and B2 titclosely against the front and rear walls A and A of the refrig t eratorand serve as so much additional insulation to resist the influence ofthe outside air. The width of the box between the ex.- ternal faces ofits side walls B3 B2 is made shorter than the internal width of thechest, so as to leave spaces C C between said walls B3 B2 and the sidewalls A2 A2 of the chest, which spaces constitute the lateral warm-airlines of the refrigerator.

Vertical cleats B5, secured to the lateral faces of the box B, at thefront and rear edges thereof, serve to accurately locatethe boxcentrally between the side Walls A2 A2, the outer faces of said cleatsfitting against the inner faces of said Walls A2 A2 when the box isplaced in position. The upper edges of the side walls B3 Bs terminatesorne distance below the top of the box and aiford apertures c, throughwhich the warm .air is discharged from the iiues C into theice-compartment.

` strengthen the box and as handles by which it may be convenientlylifted.

The bottom B4 of the box is provided at its center with an elongatedaperture C', extending the greater part of the distance from the frontto the rear wall thereof and forming the downdraft or cold-air flueofthe refrigerator.

ICO

Said bottom B4 is also provided at some suitable point with adrip-opening b, which in this instance is located directly behind theaperture C', close to the rear wall B2 of the box. A drip-pipe D,secured in the lower portion of the refrigerator, immediately below thedrip-opening b, and extending down through the bottom A3 of the chest,serves to conduct off the drip in the usual manner. p

The ice-chamber B is supported within the refrigerator upon horizontalledges a. a2, provided on the front and rear walls A and A. The frontledge ca is herein shown as formed by the upper surface of a cleat E,which is secured to said front Wall A just above the door A5, while therear ledge 0. is formed partially by a somewhat narrower cleat E on therear wall and partially by rabbeting the upper portion of the said wallto form a shoulder at this point.

F indicates an ice-rack of any approved form.

As herein shown, the refrigerator is lined throughout in the usualmanner with zinc or other suitable sheet metal. The lining A7 of thebodyof the chest covers the inner walls of the lower portion thereof andextends at the sides up through the flues C. The lining B7 of theice-box covers the interiorthereof and is applied to the cleats B6 aswell. Around the central Hue C said lining is turned up to form asurrounding ledge b', which prevents any drip from passing into saidflue, and the whole of the lining is inclined slightly toward thedrip-opening b to secure the proper drainage of the box. The latter isalso provided with a depending nipple b2, which projects into thefunnel-shaped top d of the drip-pipe D and insures against leakage pastthe latter.

A lining-plate B8 on the under side of the bottom of the box forms theceiling of the provision-chamber and completes the lining of the samewhen the ice-box is in place.

In a refrigerator thus constructed the same perfection of dry-aircirculation is obviously attained as in the ordinary dry-air refrigera'tor of the same general type, while at the same time every surface ofboth the ice and provision chambers and of the several lues can bereadily reached for cleaning by simply removing the ice-chamber. Whenthus removed, the latter can be cleaned byturning a hose upon it, and itcan, moreover, be readily carried out of doors or to the ice-house to befilled.

I claim as my inventionl. .A dry air refrigerator provided with an openupper end, a hinged cover, and aremovable ice box fitting within theupper portion of the body of the refrigerator and occupying the fulldepth thereof from front to rear, the side Walls of the ice box beingseparated from the side walls of the body by narrow spaces forminglateral warm air flues, and being cut down at their upper edges toafford communication between said flues and the ice chamber, verticalcleats secured to the exterior corners of the box at the front and rearof said iues and litting against the side Walls of the body, inwardlyprojecting horizontal cleats extending from front to rear of the boxabove the dues, and forming the handles of the box, and a vertical coldair flue or aperture in the bottom of the box, substantially asdescribed.

2. A dry air refrigerator provided with an open upper end, a hingedcover, and a removable ice box tting within the upper portion of thebody of the refrigerator and occupying the full depth thereof from frontto rear, said ice box comprising a metal pan and a nonconducting caseinclosing said pan, the side walls of the ice box being separatedfromthe side walls of the body of the refrigerator by narrow spaces forminglateral warm airi'lues and being cut down at their upper edges to affordcommunication between the lines and the ice chamber, vertical cleatssecured to the exterior corners of the box at the front and rear of saidlues, and fitting against the side walls of the body, inwardlyprojecting horizontal cleats extending from front to rear of the boxabove the flues, and forming the handles of the box, and a central coldair fine or aperture in the bottom of the box, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

FRED E. RANNEY.

Witnesses:

JNO. Lewis, W. C. JOHNSON.

